Today we wrapped up the experience by reviewing the basic terms at a snazzy hotel in Mishawaka—the place was like a complex dedicated to Notre Dame with a flavor all its own. After reviewing, we split into groups to put all we learned into a brief presentation on hypothetical business plans; there was a jewelry store, home repair business, day spa, and bait shop. The guys really put their creativity and some lofty ideals that could only be supported by an imaginary budget into action.  Everyone did a great job with the presentations and we were on the road home before we knew it.

 But back to the having fun… Throughout the week I had the sweet deal of observing the guys through a camera lens. The atmosphere was very laid back and for the most part, hilarious. Clever puns, quick quips, and questions only a Wally could muster on the fly. Mornings were made light by the collective effort of the group to make 9 am tolerable, especially when we tied the internet and popular culture into the mix. And the on-site visits were fun, namely the chocolate factory. It was like a how-its-made tour—and of course, we got to eat chocolate.

 Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but I think I will continue to look at the program in a good light. Roland and Lu exposed us to something we couldn’t get at Wabash, something that could really affect us in the long-term. Alumni fostered the ideals of Old Wabash by taking the time to give back to the students. I think we all we take note of that. However, it was the guys that participated in the program that made it a worthwhile experience—even if it we weren’t in Europe, or South America, or whatever.

Behind the lens, a picture at the College Football Hall of Fame's interactive theatre.

A favorite pic, Evan Isaacs in a I Love Lucy cut out.

After our morning sessions we would go out of our classroom and see marketing in action. Some of the week’s highlights included Andrew Snyder from St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, Senor Koko’s talk at the South Bend Chocolate Company, The College Football Hall of Fame, Tim Craft, Mr. Zirkle at Just Marketing, and many others. After talking to all these experts we were able to see many different sides of marketing from corporate real-estate to racing to non profit organizations. By visiting this wide spectrum of different places we were able to see exactly how to implement the marketing strategies we learned in real world situations. Also we were able to meet many interesting Wabash alumni (another important lesson learned: NETWORKING).

On the final morning we got a chance to apply what we learned to make a Marketing plan for our own company. We split into 4 different groups each representing a specific company. The presentations were interesting, which included a super exclusive Asian Spa (at the low annual membership fee of 75k a year), a home repair service in Crawfordsville catered to high income families, a small independent Jewelry company trying to take on DeBeers, and a national Fishing and Bait supply company. In the end it was decided that the best company was the fishing supply company: Master Baits Fishing Supply Company (this group was coincidentally the best looking and most talented group).

 Overall this week was extremely fun and informative. We learned some of the more important aspects of Marketing and Business such as “Make a profit” and the importance of appearance. Everything that we learned will be important later in life, especially for those who want to start their own Consulting/Marketing firm down the road. I highly recommend this immersion trip to anyone interested in Marketing or Business at Wabash.

I also think I speak for everyone on the trip when I thank Roland Morin (our marketing guru), Lu Hamilton, and all the speakers who volunteered their time to talk to a bunch of Wabash men about marketing.  

The inside scoop at the South Bend Chocolate Factory, Skip dips a spoon in some chocolate.

Skip and his teammates present on a bait shop, coincidentally the 'best' and Skip's.

Another place we visited was the College Football Hall of Fame.  Even though the Hall was a great product, and the marketing strategies are seen to work, the Hall is unable to attract many visitors.  It was very interesting in trying to determine what kind of strategies, if any could work in getting people in the Hall.  

 Lastly, we visited the South Bend Chocolate Company.  This business has been very successful in marketing their product through various means.  The most interesting I saw was a magazine of the company which gave articles as well as catalogs of the chocolate product.  This is a great way of establishing your brand as well as selling the chocolate directly to the consumer via direct mail and magazine pick up.  This day was very eventful because it enabled me to see businesses thriving because of their marketing campaigns as well as some that possess a problematic strategy.               

Mark throws a few passes in the College Football Hall of Fame's skills area.

Chocolates pass by on a conveyor belt as Mark stops for a photo.

 When our group finally got to S.B., it was business as usual—in the board room of Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, learning the ins and outs of a two million dollar annual marketing budget. SJMC uses extremely targeted marketing practices. Through segmenting consumers by age, sex, income and location SJMC implements strategic direct-mailing tactics and billboard advertisements. Almost every soccer-mom in the region is exposed to their pediatrics advertisements, while the middle-aged men are considering SJMC for their cardiological needs.

 After an informative session at SJMC the group headed over to the National College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend. We learned about the unique budget constraints placed on non-for-profit marketers—there is certainly no two-million dollar budget here! Non-for-profit marketers must operate primarily through public service announcements and sponsored events, because they can’t afford expensive television advertising. Marketing for the College Football Hall of Fame is especially challenged by its location—although the population of South Bend is very supportive of the Hall of Fame, they need a large flow of tourism to truly profit—and it is hard for a marketer to reach outside of S.B. without TV ads or other mass media.

 Just across the street from the College Football Hall of Fame is the very first brand of The South Bend Chocolate Company. The chocolate is seriously delicious. Really, it’s very good. I highly recommend their chocolate for personal consumption or gifting. Back to marketing…they are totally remodeling their first store to expand their selection and reinvent a family environment within the store. It’s genius—they have a store full of candy and a playground for sugar-high children to burn their energy. We also toured the S.B. Chocolate Company factory, which is a selling point in itself, because once you get a free sample, you’ll have to buy more.

 All in all it was a really great day, and it’s not over yet. Soon we’re going to eat at an establishment owned by one of Roland’s friends. I’m hungry, signing off.

Students gather in the College Football Hall of Fame's interactive theatre.

Students don hair-nets in preparation for an 'inside scoop' tour of the South Bend Chocolate Factory.

Andrew Snyder '83 describes SJRMC's marketing strategies.

Today, we talked about internet marketing. You might think that creating a good and comprehensive website might be an easy task to do. Well, you need to use your creativity in order to generate one that would market your product in the best way to bring you profits. We had an exercise where in teams we had to come up with a proposal for a website marketing different products. My team had to craft one for a picture frame gallery. We thought that the best way to inform our customers about our frames would be to have a set-up of the website as a big frame and have a virtual 3D walking tour of the gallery where in different genres rooms you could pick your frame and customize your order.

Moreover, in the afternoon we visited the Just Marketing Company, an international firm that markets products, such as Direct TV or beer brands during car races. I was particularly interested in how they measure the impact of their marketing campaigns (stickers on the cars, displays, hot passes) on the return of investment for their client-firms. And I learned from that visit that the best way is to gather data on the clients and then look at the spikes in the sales of a given company that they were working for. For example, during NASCAR racing series Just Marketing would prepare a display of the product of their client. They would gather data on the fans who would sign up for free give-a-ways. Then, the impact of this marketing tactic would be compared with the changes in sales for that product over the period of time of the marketing campaign. We finished our visit to Just Marketing by taking pictures next to a car that we only know from the series of James Bond movies.

Opeiczonek pays attention to the advice of alumnus Wes Zirkle. 

Evan Isaacs ’10 - Working from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. after college is going to be a little bit more difficult than I expected. Other than the early mornings and nasty weather we’ve experienced, this Marketing Immersion Trip has been EXTREMELY interesting and entertaining. During the past 3 days there has been a short phrase that has been consistently reiterated each day: Make a profit! This seems to be the essential answer to anything in the marketing world, which obviously is…reasonable and understandable.

 Today, we visited Just Marketing, which only markets race cars (Indy and NASCAR). I found myself in awe while walking through the doors of the International Headquarters of Just Marketing even though I am not really a race fan. A real race car hanging from the wall, a colorful aquarium, and a couple of racers suits were a few of the first things I noticed as we entered the luxurious, yet laid back building. As we climbed up the stairs towards the meeting room, racing bombarded the atmosphere of this building. At the top of the stairs everyone was held up due to the Ashton Martin sitting in the garage that we overlooked from the office building. Mr. Zirkle (Wabash Alumnus) greeted us with a variety of cookies and FIJI water, which in my opinion is the best way to start any meeting. Mr. Zirkle and a few of the workers at Just Marketing spoke to us for some time, giving us plenty of background and advice for going into the sports marketing field.

 I know I might not have chosen the best Immersion trip due to location, but other than the crappy weather and long days I have learned a lot in this crash course to Marketing. I also know that this networking and learning experience will directly help me in my future endeavors.

Top: An Indy car hangs on the lobby wall of Just Marketing.

At Right: Students (Crum '08, Thomas, Isaacs, and Tokar -'09) engaged in the round table discussion with Just Marketing execs.

This afternoon was starkly contrasted with the morning session. We visited a professional marketing company, Just Marketing, which specializes in racing. They connect companies with cars and teams in different racing leagues and help sponsors organize their marketing efforts. When I thought of marketing in racing, I thought of the stickers and paint jobs on the cars. What I did not think of were the signings done by the drivers, the product demonstrations, the kiosks at the track and the trucks outside the track for various companies.

The vast knowledge and excitement of the staff there, as well as the attitude of the company as a whole, makes this company aggressive in their market. In our meeting, we did not meet with just one Wabash graduate, rather our graduate, after talking to us personally, introduced the group to four co-workers intimately related with clients of the company. They spoke to us about what their clients are getting for their money and how it clearly affects the profits of their client.

The company is also growing wildly and will continue to do so from what the employees say. In the last four years they have added roughly 80 employees and many new clients. They are clearly on the road to success in the marketing world and shared their knowledge of the industry with us.

Top: Students take in the atmosphere at Just Marketing.

Right: Steven Kleitsch by a custom Aston Martin.

Today’s morning was spent discussing different ways a company takes a product and spins it towards a certain group or makes a variety of products, all basically the same, but made to appeal to different kinds of people.  The afternoon was spent visiting two alumni who work in some way with the field of marketing and advertising.  Tim Craft, of CB Richard Ellis, a corporate real estate firm, stressed to all of us the importance of networking.  Networking can in part be seen as advertising yourself to others.  Networking, as he seemed to describe it, is something that never stops.  There is no social opportunity that isn’t also a networking opportunity.  Every time you enter a restaurant or stand in line at the Qwik Mart there is no way to predict who you’ll meet.  Later, we visited Engledow Group, a firm that provides solutions to many of the horticulture problems faced by the City of Indianapolis and many of the large businesses contained within.  Jim Engledow, President, was kind enough to show us around the office and give a short description of how the company got started and got to where it is today.  He showed us some of the company’s recent advertisements and shared how he believed the company was best marketed to potential customers.

Besides the weather (freezing rain), it was a great second day of Spring Break.  I’m already looking forward to tomorrow.

Students gather for a picture with TimCraft at CB Richards Ellis.

Top: Roland '91 instructs students on segmentation and targeting strategy.

At Right: Students enjoy a dinner together at Hunan Chinese Restaurant. 

The last session of the day was led by a successful and delightful alumnus, Scott Smalstig. He is the Vice Chairman of David Jones Advertising. He discussed advertising and the philosophies of the businesses. He discussed the importance of vision, mission statements and set of core values to a business. He said that even though these statements are important, they should be able to fit on a tee-shirt and they should be the force guiding the day-to-day operations of any business. We went on to discuss the services of full service advertising firms and at the end of the session, we were split into groups and giving the task of producing a commercial for a local automotive group. The whole day was very much and educational albeit it was long. I am looking forward to gathering all the marketing knowledge I can and enjoying my spring break in the ever changing Indiana weather.

At Left: Scott Smalstig speaks about his companies marketing philosophies.

Class today consisted of getting acquainted with Roland and all the other guys in the group and exploring the fundamentals of marketing.  We kicked off the mornings with introductions and little stories about ourselves.  We then dove into the marketing material.  One of today’s key concepts was the 4P’s of marketing.  They are as follows:  product, price, place and promotion.  When analyzing a market, a firm or individual must always do proper research and analyze the situation utilizing the 4P’s.  Although this is not the typical spring break on the beach, the experience is off to a good start. 

This summer I will be departing for the Peace Corps sometime between the months of July-September.  I will be heading to Central or South America to engage in business development projects.  Essentially I will be spending my time setting up and helping small businesses grow.  Thus, this marketing immersion is an invaluable experience that allows me to explore yet another facet of running a business.  Therefore this atypical spring break will be a vital tool to my Peace Corps service. 

Pictured Above (from left to right): Roland Morin '91, Brian Crum '08, and Shola Ajiboye '10.

The group will live in Indianapolis and attend three marketing sessions per day. They will also have evening readings and case studies. The sessions will be facilitated by independent marketing consultant Roland Morin ’91.

The weekday sessions will begin with Introductory information about the definition of marketing, the current state of the industry, and expectations of the students.

The immersion group will visit a coffee company, Monon Coffee, and learn how it differs from Starbucks.

They will visit other alumni and businesses, including Just Marketing in Zionsville and the Football Hall of Fame in Mishawaka. Mr. Hamilton said it was important that the students saw different types of marketing: in-house and out-house marketing, as well as the for-profit and non-for profit realm. He also thought the networking and experience gained from the Marketing Immersion Program could be good way to get more information about possible career options.

“With the number of alumni we have involved, the students get the chance to continue down this line if they want,” Hamilton said. “They’ll have people they can call and [to whom] they can talk and learn more. Any of these immersion trips give the student an opportunity to look at that career path and make a more critical decision about whether it’s good for them or not. It’s a great exposure if they have anything they want to do.”

Student participants: Shola Ajiboye, Brian Crum, Steve Egan, Joe Hawkins, Evan Isaacs, Stephen Kleitsch, Michael Opieczonek, Mitchel Rivers, Zac Simpson, Mark Thomas, Alix thompson, Skip Tokar.

Simpson will be posting student reports each day to this blog about the marketing immersion experience.